PREGNANCY AND TUBERCULOSIS - INFLUENCE OF TREATMENT ON PERINATAL OUTCOME

The objective of this article is to evaluate the impact of tuberculosi s (TB) on perinatal outcome in a cohort of 25 pregnant women with TB t reated at the National Institute of Perinatology (Mexico, City) from M arch 1990 to September 1995. They were compared with a cohort of norma l pregnant women; both cohorts were matched by age, gestational age, a nd socioeconomic status. For purposes of analysis, patients with TB we re further stratified into two groups: one included 9 women who starte d treatment either before or at the beginning of pregnancy, and the ot her constituted 16 women who started treatment in either the second or third trimester of gestation. Thirteen women (52%) had pulmonary TB, 7 (28%) had renal infection, and the rest of patients had diverse extr apulmonary localization of the infection. Obstetrical morbidity and ne onatal mortality were significantly higher in pregnant women with TB w ho started treatment late in pregnancy. Perinatal morbidity was simila r in pregnant women receiving antituberculous drugs early during pregn ancy to that in uninfected women. We conclude that TB represents a ris k factor for pregnancy. Early treatment of the disease during gestatio n reverts its negative impact on perinatal outcome.